This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The UK Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Strategy 2011, which aims to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the best-prepared countries in the world, was published today.

The updated plan has been developed following consultation with a range of health and social care professionals. It aims to create more flexibility and clearer communication between all parties involved in the Government response to a pandemic.

Secretary of State, Andrew Lansley, said: “This Strategy sets out a clear framework to help planners in the NHS and other services to make sure we respond effectively to a flu pandemic.

“Good communications, strong preparations and close working with our health and social care professionals are key to ensuring the impact on services and to the public is kept to a minimum should a pandemic occur.”

The main phases of a pandemic

For the first time, the plan sets out the main phases of a pandemic and the likely scenarios:

low impact

moderate impact

high impact

In each scenario there are four clear sections:

nature and scale of the illness - what defines the need for the pandemic to have reached this level i.e. widespread disease